NORFOLK WEATHER: A Good Fall Foliage Season
By Russell Russ
September’s weather was not perfect, but overall, it was pretty good. There were plenty of cloudy days, but most of the month was pleasant and relatively rain-free. No Atlantic hurricanes formed by the end of September. Frost can occur here in Norfolk during September, but none was observed this year. That has become the trend in recent years. We remain in a slight drought, but we are getting just enough rainfall to avoid seriously dry conditions. That is certainly better than two years ago, when the danger of forest fires was very high. This was our third September in a row with mostly warm, dry conditions. Fall foliage really began to ramp up during the final two weeks of September. Conditions were shaping up for a very pretty foliage season, which is good news because the last few years have not been especially impressive.
September’s high temperature of 80 degrees was observed on Sept. 10. The low temperature of 42 was observed on Sept. 15, 24 and 25. The monthly mean temperature of 59.9 degrees was just 0.9 degrees above normal. There were no record temperatures this month. Norfolk’s Septembers have been trending warmer over the last 20 to 30 years. The last time Norfolk recorded a September that ranked among the ten coldest was 1984, when it ranked seventh. Since then, 12 Septembers have ranked among the top warmest, including a few ties. This year, however, temperatures were close to normal. Norfolk’s warmest September was in 2015 with a mean temperature of 64.7 degrees and the coolest was in 1963 with 53.6 degrees.
September’s rainfall total was 3.66 inches, 1.01 inches below normal. Below normal, but not high ranking at all. This month was on track to rank among the drier Septembers until an early season nor’easter affected New England on Sept. 25-28. The storm brought more rain and wind to southern Connecticut and Cape Cod than to Norfolk. Even so, Norfolk recorded 1.62 inches of rain, along with wind gusts of 25 to 35 mph over three days. Some local power outages were reported. The continuing weak hurricane season is playing a significant role in our lower-than-normal rainfall totals. Norfolk’s wettest September was in 1938 (Hurricane of ’38) with 13.40 inches and the driest was in 2014 with just 1.16 inches.
Through September, Norfolk’s total precipitation for 2026 was 33.55 inches. That was 5.47 inches below normal and 0.84 inches below last year’s total through September. We can thank July’s 7.77 inches of rainfall for keeping 2026 from being even drier. Although the year has been on the dry side, it seems unlikely that 2026 will come close to ranking among Norfolk’s ten driest years.
If you thought September was nice, October has been even nicer. Through Oct. 26, only two days had recorded measurable rainfall, totaling 2.93 inches. That is not an insignificant amount for two days of rain, but October has still been on the dry side. October produced an exceptionally beautiful stretch of fall weather, with crisp mornings, mild afternoons, clear blue skies, and gorgeous foliage.
It is hard to beat, and it is one of the things that makes New England such a special place to live. The Atlantic hurricane season also became more active in October. Hurricane Isaias, the season’s first hurricane, made landfall in Florida’s Panhandle on Oct. 9. Norfolk recorded
1.97 inches of rain on Oct. 11-12. Although Norfolk’s rainfall is rarely the direct result of a hurricane making landfall in Connecticut, such landfalls are very rare. We can, however, be indirectly affected by hurricanes and tropical storms making landfall elsewhere along the Gulf and East Coasts. Norfolk has two foliage seasons. The maple season runs from mid-September to early October, while the oak season typically extends from mid to late October. Get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather and foliage while it lasts. Winter is right around the corner.
Weather observations are recorded by the Great Mountain Forest at Norfolk’s National Weather Service Cooperative Weather Observer Station, Norfolk 2SW.